Caller claiming to be police fishes for bank info

Suspicious calls from someone pretending to be an officer at the Okinawa Police Headquarters staff or Financial Services Agency staff were reported in three occasions in Naha and Okinawa City.

In each case, the caller reportedly asked bank account numbers, but none of the attempts to coerce to reveal the information has been successful so far.

According to the Prefecture Citizens’ Affairs Division, a female in her 70’s and two females in their 80’s received suspicious calls from someone claiming to be a member of a shopping center staff, Okinawa Police Headquarters staff, or Financial Services Agency staff. The speaker changed frequently, and the callers tried to get information about the family structure, bank accounts, or the bank balance.

However, police say these kinds of calls might lead to a billing fraud, and remind the public not to reveal personal information easily, and ask anyone receiving such a call to contact police immediately.